by Tarnia Green
Government Information Service
Government is willing to work with the private sector in determining how best as a collective it could come up with a strategy to allow some business establishments to remain open to do business within the city of Roseau on a Sunday.
According to the labour laws of Dominica chapter 19:10, Sunday is regarded as a public holiday. The Labour Contract Act Chapter 89:04 states that workers are to be paid double time for performing duties on that day.
Hon. Minister for Employment, Dr. Colin McIntyre, said that with the presence of cruise ships on the island on a Sunday, it is necessary that merchants consider providing a service on a Sunday.
 Hon. Minister for Employment,
Dr. Colin McIntyre
The Minister went on further to state that the labour laws of the country will have to be revisited to facilitate such a change.
“This is a burning issue that is coming up more and more. It has placed itself on the table for consideration but as a Government, we want to make sure we do things right. It has to be something that the people understand, that is a requirement. It has to be a partnership between Government and the people to make the necessary changes in order that we have a win-win situation. We do not want to force anything down on our people because we have to be concerned about labour laws and the rights of workers. What I am saying here is this is something that we must take into consideration if we have to take Dominica to the next level because on a Sunday, with say two thousand (2 000) folks walking through Roseau, you cannot have Roseau shut down at all. You cannot have Roseau just totally locked down because of double time on a Sunday. We have to strike a balance somewhere in there. Again, it has to be between the Government and the workers and the private sector.”
The Minister says while it may be easy for smaller enterprises to remain open, larger business may find difficulty in paying overtime to such a large number of employees.
“There are certain businesses that are capitalising on it because their workforce comes from within. Therefore, they can stay open and their overhead would not be as heavy as say if you want to open one of your larger firms n Dominica. It is going to be very difficult to pay double time on a Sunday for your entire staff. So some things have to be looked at.” |
